Timepiece



K. D. LONG May 27, 1930.

TIMEPIE CE Filed Dec. 27, 1926 M 0 H m M ATTORNEY Patented May 27, 1930 UNITED STATES KENNETH: ID. LONG, 01' CENTERVILLE, IOWA TIMEPIECE Application filed December 27, 1926. Serial No. 157,806.

This invention relates to certain novel improvements in time pieces and has for its principal object the provision of an improved construction of this character which will be highly efiicient in use and economical in manufacture;

Among the severabobjects of the invention is to provide a handless clock whereby dials are utilized for indicating time.

1 A further object of the invention resides in the selective arrangement of parts of intermittently moving the time indicating dials.

Other objects will appear hereinafter. The invention consists in the novel combination and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed.

The invention will be best understood by reference to the accompanying drawings,

- 20 showing the preferred form of construction and in which:

. Fig. 1 is a face elevational view of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional detailed view taken substantially on line 2-2 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a sectional detailed view taken substantially on line 3.-3 of Fig. 2.

In the drawing indicates a casing having a front wall 11 provided with spaced openings 12 and13 closed by transparent closure member 14. The closure member 14 has its edge portions mounted in recesses 15 and is retained in closing position through the medium of screw secured clips 16. Within this casing is arranged the clock me hanism 17. This clock mechanism includes a minute shaft 18 which is journaled through an hour sleeve 19. Mounted on the hour sleeve 19 for rotation therewith is a partial gear 19'. Mounted upon the minute shaft 18 is likewise a partial gear 19. The gears 19" and 19 are provided with hubs 20 upon each of which is driven a spaced ring 21. Mounted for independent movements on the hubs 20 between the spacer rings 21 and the gears are dials 22 and 23, the dial 22 havingprinted thereon numbers 24 indicating hours and the dial 23 having printed thereon numbers 25 indicating minutes. Secured to the face plate 26 of the clock mechanism 17 is a plate 27 which carries circumferentially arranged pins 28 disposed a slight distance inwardly from the ripheral edge of the plate 27 and located in spaced relation from the peripheral edge of the dial 22. The pins are spaced apart at an angle equal to five minutes.

Extendin laterally from the face plate 26 are stu 29 and secured to the studs 29 is a plate 30. This place 30 has formed in its upper edge portion an opening 29' which exposes an adjacent portion of the dial 22. This late 30 carries circumferentially dispose pins 31 arranged in spaced relation with respect to the peripheral edge of'the dial 23. The pins 31 are spaced apart at an angle equal to one minute.

It is intended that the dials be rotated intermittently and independently of each other by operation of the hour sleeve and minute shaft and this is accomplished in the following manner.

Secured to each of the hubs, at at 35, in any approved manner, is a spring 33. Each of these springs have their unsecured end gortions slidably bearing against a pin 34.

ecured to each of the dials are brackets 36 which slidably support a rack bar 37 having teeth formed on its inner end portion. These teeth are adapted to have meshing relation with their respective gears. The outer end portions 41 of the rack bars are adapted to be projected between adjacent pins of the dials whereby to hold the dials against movement while the springs 33 are being tensioned and also to limit intermediate movement of the dials which movement is as follows. As the hubs are rotated the springs 33 are tensioned against the pins 34 and at a predetermined time, the gears will operate the rack bars to move the end portions 41 from engagement between said adjacent pins to permit the dials to be rotated by the action of the springs.

At the completion of the rotation of the dials, the springs will be relieved from under tension and as this movement of the dials takes lace there is a slight relative movement etween the rack bars and the gears which will act to move the rack bars in an opposite direction to project their end portions 41 between the adjacent suceeding pins which relative movement between the rack bars and the gears takes place by reason of the fact that the movement of the dials is at a greater speed than the movement of the gears. As, the outer end portions engage. between the adjacent succeeding pins the dial will be stopped in its intermediate movement until the rack bars are again moved to dispose the end portions from between adjacent pins.

The hour numerals and minute numerals are exposed through the openings 12 and 13 respectively whereby to permit ready observation of the time.

In the description, I have not gone into detail of the clock mechanism 17 as it is-to be understood that any approved clock mechanism may be used which comprises, an hour sleeve and a minute hand shaft.

From the above description it will be manifest that the gears operate on the rack bars I whereby to intermittently move the dials by tensionln the springs 33.

While Ihave illustrated and described the preferred form of construction for carrying my invention into effect, this is capable of variation and modification, without departing from thespirit of the invention. I, therefore, do not wish to be limited to the precise details of construction set forth, but desire to avail myself of such variations and modifications as come within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letter' Patent is:

1. In a clock mechanism, a driven member, a hub fixed on said driven member having a gear formed thereon, a clock dial mounted on said hub, a rack bar slidabl supported by said dial and operable by said gear for lonitudinal movement, a pin extending from t o clock dial, a resilient member secured to said hub and engaging the pin, pin members circumferentially supported about the periph-'- eral edge of the clock dial in spaced relation with respect to each other, the outer end of a dial mounted on said hub and having thereon adapted for selective reglstration with said opening, a rack bar slidabl supported on the clock dial and operable hy the gear segment for longitudinal movement, a pin extending from the clock dial, a resilient member secured to said hub and engaging the pin, pin members circumferentially supported about the peripheral ed e of the clock dial and arranged in spaced re ation with respect said rack bar being disposed between adjacent pin members, said in one direction an member, the movement of said rack bar causing the retraction of the outer end thereof from engagement between said adjacent pin members, said resilient member when under tension acting upon the dial to move said dial intermittently when said outer end of the rack bar is disposed from a position between said adjacent pin members.

a 2. A- clock mechanism including a housing having an opening formed therein, a clock works in said housing, a member driven by said clock works, a hub mounted on said member having a gear segment provided thereon,

gear moving the rack bar I tensiomng said resilient figures" 

